Ethiopia is the place of origin for the coffee bean which originated from the place called Kefa (which was one of the 14 provinces in the old Ethiopian administration). It is a land of natural contrasts, with its vast fertile West, jungles, and numerous rivers, and the world's hottest settlement of Dallol in its north. The Ethiopian Highlands are Africa's largest continuous mountain ranges, and Sof Omar Caves contain Africa's largest cave. Ethiopia has the most UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Africa.[21]

Similarly, in the 15th-century Ge'ezBook of Aksum, the name is ascribed to a legendary individual called Ityopp'is, an extra-Biblical son of Cush, son of Ham, said to have founded the city of Axum. In addition to this Cushite figure, two of the earliest Semitic kings are also said to have borne the name Ityopp'is, according to traditional Ethiopian king lists. At least as early as c. 850,[32] The name Ethiopia also occurs in many translations of the Old Testament, but the Hebrew texts have Kush, which refers principally to Nubia.[33] In the New Testament, however, the Greek term Aithiops ('an Ethiopian') does occur.[34]

Ethiopia is widely considered the site of the emergence of anatomically modern humans, Homo sapiens, in the Middle Paleolithic about 200,000 years ago. The earliest known modern human bones were found in Southwestern Ethiopia and are called the Omo remains.[35] Additionally, skeletal remains of Homo sapiens idaltu were found at a site in the Middle Awash in Ethiopia. Dated to approximately 160,000 years ago, they may represent an extinct subspecies of Homo sapiens, or the immediate ancestors of anatomically modern humans.[36]

According to linguists, the first Afroasiatic-speaking populations arrived in the region during the ensuing Neolithic era from the family's proposed urheimat ("original homeland") in the Nile Valley,[12] or the Near East.[37] Other scholars propose that the Afroasiatic family developed in situ in the Horn, with its speakers subsequently dispersing from there.[38]

Around the 8th century BC, a kingdom known as Dʿmt was established in northern Ethiopia and Eritrea. The polity's capital was located at Yeha, in northern Ethiopia. Most modern historians consider this civilization to be a native Ethiopian one, although Sabaean-influenced because of the latter's hegemony of the Red Sea.[14]

Other scholars regard Dʿmt as the result of a union of Afroasiatic-speaking cultures of the Cushitic and Semitic branches; namely, local Agaw peoples and Sabaeans from South Arabia. However, Ge'ez, the ancient Semitic language of Ethiopia, is thought to have developed independently from Sabaean, one of the South Semitic languages. As early as 2000 BC, other Semitic speakers were living in Ethiopia and Eritrea where Ge'ez developed.[39][40] Sabaean influence is now thought to have been minor, limited to a few localities, and disappearing after a few decades or a century. It may have been a trading or military colony in alliance with the Ethiopian civilization of Dʿmt or some other proto-Aksumite state.[14]

After the fall of Dʿmt during the fourth century BC, the plateau came to be dominated by smaller successor kingdoms. In the first century AD, the Kingdom of Aksum emerged in what is now northern Ethiopia and Eritrea. According to the medieval Book of Aksum, the kingdom's first capital, Mazaber, was built by Itiyopis, son of Cush.[41] Aksum would later at times extend its rule into Yemen on the other side of the Red Sea.[42] The Persian religious figure Mani listed Aksum with Rome, Persia, and China as one of the four great powers of his era, during the 3rd century.[43]

Around 316 AD, Frumentius and his brother Edesius from Tyre accompanied their uncle on a voyage to Ethiopia. When the vessel stopped at a Red Sea port, the natives killed all the travelers except the two brothers, who were taken to the court as slaves. They were given positions of trust by the monarch, and they converted members of the royal court to Christianity. Frumentius became the first bishop of Aksum.[44] A coin dated to 324 shows that Ethiopia was the second country to officially adopt Christianity (after Armenia), although the religion may have been at first confined to court circles; it was the first major power to do so.

As the Aksumite kingdom gradually declined, one of the earliest local Muslim states, the Makhzumi sultanate, was established in the Shewa region. The polity was governed by the Makhzumi dynasty, which reigned over the province until it was deposed around 1280 by the Walashma dynasty.[45]

The first interaction that the Islamic Prophet Muhammad had with Ethiopia was during the reign of Aṣḥama ibn Abjar, who was at the time the Emperor of Aksum and gave refuge to several Muslims in the Kingdom of Aksum in 614 AD.[46] According to other authors, Ashama may have been the same person as king Armah, or his father or son.[47] Taddesse Tamrat records that the inhabitants of Wiqro, where the ruler is known as Ashamat al-Negashi, claim that his tomb is located in their village.[48][49]

Muhammad's second interaction with Ethiopia was during the Expedition of Zaid ibn Haritha, when he sent Amr bin Umayyah al-Damri to the King of Ethiopia (then Abyssinia).[50] In a letter from Muhammad to the King (Negus) of Axum, Muhammad invites the ruler and his men to follow his message and believe in Allah.[51] When this letter was presented to the King, he took the parchment and allegedly placed it on his eye, descended to the floor and confessed his faith in Islam.[52]

In the early 15th century, Ethiopia sought to make diplomatic contact with European kingdoms for the first time since the Aksumite era. A letter from Henry IV of England to the Emperor of Abyssinia survives.[53] In 1428, Yeshaq I sent two emissaries to Alfonso V of Aragon, who sent return emissaries. They failed to complete the return trip.[54] The first continuous relations with a European country began in 1508 with Portugal under Dawit II (Lebna Dengel), who had just inherited the throne from his father.[55]

The Sultanate was subsequently re-established by Kedafu around the year 1734. It was thereafter ruled by his Mudaito Dynasty.[61] The primary symbol of the Sultan was a silver baton, which was considered to have magical properties.[62]

Ethiopian isolationism ended following a British mission that concluded an alliance between the two nations; but, it was not until 1855 that Ethiopia was completely united and the power in the Emperor restored, beginning with the reign of Tewodros II. Upon his ascent, he began modernizing Ethiopia and recentralizing power in the Emperor. Ethiopia began to take part in world affairs once again.

But Tewodros suffered several rebellions inside his empire. Northern Oromo militias, Tigrayan rebellion, and the constant incursion of Ottoman Empire and Egyptian forces near the Red Sea brought the weakening and the final downfall of Tewodros II. He killed himself in 1868 during his last battle with the British Expedition to Abyssinia. Emperor Tewodros II was born in Begemder from a nobleman of Qwara, where the Qwara dialect of Agaw language is spoken.

After Tewodros' death, Tekle Giyorgis II was proclaimed Emperor. He was defeated in the Battles of Zulawu (21 June 1871) and Adua (11 July 1871). Kassai was subsequently declared Yohannes IV on 21 January 1872. In 1875 and 1876, Turkish/Egyptian forces, accompanied by many European and American 'advisors', twice invaded Abyssinia but were initially defeated: once at the Battle of Gundet losing 800 men, and then in the second invasion, decisively defeated by Emperor Yohannes IV at the Battle of Gura on 7 March 1875, where the invading forces lost at least 3000 men by death or captured.[65] From 1885 to 1889, Ethiopia joined the Mahdist War allied to Britain, Turkey, and Egypt against the Sudanese Mahdist State. On 10 March 1889, Yonannes IV was killed by the Sudanese Khalifah Abdullah's army whilst leading his army in the Battle of Gallabat (also called Battle of Metemma).

Ethiopia in its roughly current form began under the reign of Menelik II, who was Emperor from 1889 until his death in 1913. From his base in the central province of Shewa, Menelik set out to annex territories to the south, east and west,[66] areas inhabited by the Oromo, Sidama, Gurage, Welayta, and other groups.[67] He did this with the help of RasGobana Dacche's Shewan Oromo militia, which occupied lands that had not been held since Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi's war, as well as other areas that had never been under Ethiopian sovereignty.[68] Menelik's campaign against Oromos outside his army was largely in retaliation for centuries of Oromo expansionism and the Zemene Mesafint, a period during which a succession of Oromo feudal rulers dominated the highlanders.[69] Chief among these was the Yejju dynasty, which included Aligaz of Yejju and his brother Ali I of Yejju. Ali I founded the town of Debre Tabor in the Amhara Region, which became the dynasty's capital.[70] Menelik was born from King Hailemelekot of Shewa and his mother Ejegayehu Lema Adeyamo who was a servant in the royal household.[71] He had been born at Angolala in an Oromo area and had lived his first twelve years with Shewan Oromos with whom he thus had much in common.[72]

During his reign, Menelik II made advances in road construction, electricity and education; the development of a central taxation system; and the foundation and building of the city of Addis Ababa – which became capital of Shewa Province in 1881. After he ascended to the throne in 1889, it was renamed as Addis Ababa, the new capital of Abyssinia. Menelik had signed the Treaty of Wichale with Italy in May 1889 in which Italy would recognize Ethiopia's sovereignty so long as Italy could control an area north of Ethiopia (part of modern Eritrea). In return, Italy was to provide Menelik with weapons and support him as emperor. The Italians used the time between the signing of the treaty and its ratification by the Italian government to expand their territorial claims. This conflict erupted in the Battle of Adwa on 1 March 1896 in which Italy's colonial forces were defeated by the Ethiopians.[67][73]

Haile Selassie was crowned Emperor on 2 November 1930 with the titles "King of Kings", "Lord of Lords", "Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah", "Elect of God." He took—as his regnal name—Haile Selassie I which translates to "Power of the Trinity".

The early 20th century was marked by the reign of Emperor Haile Selassie ("Ras Tafari"). Haile Selassie I was born to parents from three of Ethiopia's Afroasiatic-speaking populations: the Oromo and Amhara, the country's two largest ethnic groups, as well as the Gurage. He came to power after Iyasu V was deposed, and undertook a nationwide modernization campaign from 1916, when he was made a Ras and Regent (Inderase) for the Empress Regnant, Zewditu, and became the de facto ruler of the Ethiopian Empire. Following Zewditu's death on 2 November 1930, he succeeded her as emperor.

The independence of Ethiopia was interrupted by the Second Italo-Ethiopian War, beginning when it was invaded by Fascist Italy in early October 1935, and Italian occupation of the country (1936–1941).[76] During this time, Haile Selassie appealed to the League of Nations in 1935, delivering an address that made him a worldwide figure, and the 1935 Time Man of the Year.[77] In May 1936, the metropolitan center of Ethiopian cities were occupied. As the majority of the Ethiopian population lived in rural towns, Italy faced continued resistance and ambushes in urban centers throughout its occupation. Haile Selassie fled into exile in London and Mussolini was able to proclaim the Empire of Ethiopia and the assumption of the imperial title by the Italian king Vittorio Emanuele III, recognized by the countries belonging to the international organization of the League of Nations.[78]

In 1937, the Italian massacre of Yekatit 12 occurred. This was when there were imprisonments and massacre of Ethiopians. This was because of a failed attempt of assassination meant for the Viceroy of Italian East Africa Rodolfo Graziani.

On 26 August 1942, Haile Selassie issued a proclamation that removed Ethiopia's legal basis for slavery.[80] Ethiopia had between two and four million slaves in the early 20th century, out of a total population of about eleven million.[81]

In 1952, Haile Selassie orchestrated the federation with Eritrea. He dissolved this in 1962 and annexed Eritrea, which resisted and finally won its war of independence. Haile Selassie played a leading role in the formation of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) in 1963.

Opinion within Ethiopia turned against Haile Selassie I owing to the worldwide oil crisis of 1973. This oil crisis caused a sharp increase in gasoline prices starting on 13 February 1974; food shortages; uncertainty regarding the succession; border wars; and discontent in the middle class created through modernization.[82] The high gasoline prices motivated the taxi drivers and teachers to go on strike on 18 February 1974, and students and workers in Addis Ababa began demonstrating against the government on 20 February 1974.[83] The feudal oligarchial cabinet of Akilou Habte Wolde was toppled, and a new government was formed with Endelkachew Makonnen serving as Prime Minister.[84]

The ensuing regime suffered several coups, uprisings, wide-scale drought, and a huge refugee problem. In 1977, Somalia, which had been receiving assistance and arms from the USSR, invaded Ethiopia in the Ogaden War, capturing part of the Ogaden region. Ethiopia recovered it after it began receiving massive military aid from the USSR, Cuba, South Yemen, East Germany,[86] and North Korea. This included around 15,000 Cuban combat troops.

Up to 500,000 were killed as a result of the Red Terror,[87]from forced deportations, or from the use of hunger as a weapon under Mengistu's rule.[82] The Red Terror was carried out in response to what the government termed the "White Terror", a supposed chain of violent events, assassinations, and killings attributed to the opposition.[87]

Concurrently, the Soviet Union began to retreat from building world communism under Mikhail Gorbachev's glasnost and perestroika policies, marking a dramatic reduction in aid to Ethiopia from Socialist Bloc countries. This resulted in more economic hardship and the collapse of the military in the face of determined onslaughts by guerrilla forces in the north. The collapse of socialism in general, and in Eastern Europe during the revolutions of 1989, coincided with the Soviet Union stopping aid to Ethiopia altogether in 1990. The strategic outlook for Mengistu quickly deteriorated.

In May 1991, EPRDF forces advanced on Addis Ababa and the Soviet Union did not intervene to save the government side. Mengistu fled the country to asylum in Zimbabwe, where he still resides.

In 2006, after a trial that lasted 12 years, Ethiopia's Federal High Court in Addis Ababa found Mengistu guilty in absentia of genocide.[88] Numerous other top leaders of his were also found guilty of war crimes. Mengistu and others who had fled the country were tried and sentenced in absentia. Numerous former officials received the death sentence and tens of others spent the next 20 years in jail, before being pardoned from life sentences.

The Transitional Government of Ethiopia, composed of an 87-member Council of Representatives and guided by a national charter that functioned as a transitional constitution, was set up. In June 1992, the Oromo Liberation Front withdrew from the government; in March 1993, members of the Southern Ethiopia Peoples' Democratic Coalition also left the government. In 1994, a new constitution was written that established a parliamentary regime with a bicameral legislature and a judicial system. The first formally multi-party election took place in May 1995, which was won by the EPRDF. The president of the transitional government, EPRDF leader Meles Zenawi, became Prime Minister, and Negasso Gidada was elected President.

In 1994, a constitution was adopted that led to Ethiopia's first multiparty election the following year. In May 1998, a border dispute with Eritrea led to the Eritrean–Ethiopian War, which lasted until June 2000 and cost both countries an estimated $1 million a day.[89] This hurt Ethiopia's economy, but strengthened the ruling coalition.

On 15 May 2005, Ethiopia held a third multiparty election, which was highly disputed, with some opposition groups claiming fraud. Though the Carter Center approved the pre-election conditions, it expressed its dissatisfaction with post-election matters. European Union election observers continued to accuse the ruling party of vote rigging. The opposition parties gained more than 200 parliamentary seats, compared with just 12 in the 2000 elections. Despite most opposition representatives joining the parliament, certain leaders of the CUD party, some of whom refused to take up their parliamentary seats, were accused of inciting the post-election violence that ensued and were imprisoned. Amnesty International considered them "prisoners of conscience" and they were subsequently released.

A coalition of opposition parties and some individuals was established in 2009 to oust the regime of the EPRDF in legislative elections of 2010. Meles Zenawi's party, which has been in power since 1991, published its 65-page manifesto in Addis Ababa on 10 October 2009. The opposition won most votes in Addis Ababa, but the EPRDF halted counting of votes for several days. After it ensued, it claimed the election, amidst charges of fraud and intimidation.

In mid-2011, two consecutively missed rainy seasons precipitated the worst drought in East Africa seen in 60 years. Full recovery from the drought's effects did not occur until 2012, with long-term strategies by the national government in conjunction with development agencies believed to offer the most sustainable results.[90]

Prime Minister Zenawi died on 20 August 2012 in Brussels, where he was being treated for an unspecified illness.[91] Deputy Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn was appointed as a new prime minister until the 2015 elections,[92] and remained so afterwards with his party in control of every parliamentary seat.[93] In 2013, the mass deportation from Saudi Arabia of Ethiopian migrant workers has caused tensions.[94]

According to the Democracy Index published by the United Kingdom-based Economist Intelligence Unit in late 2010, Ethiopia is an "authoritarian regime", ranking as the 118th-most democratic out of 167 countries.[101] Ethiopia has dropped 12 places on the list since 2006, and the latest report attributes the drop to the government's crackdown on opposition activities, media and civil society before the 2010 parliamentary election, which the report argues has made Ethiopia a de facto one-party state.

In July 2015, during a trip that President Obama took to Kenya, he highlighted the role of Ethiopia in the fight against Islamic terrorism.[102]

However, the following spring, in April, 2016, the U.S. State Department said it was "deeply concerned" about the government filing terrorism charges against the Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC) First Vice-Chairman Bekele Gerba, and others in the Oromia region, following their arrest in late 2015, and generally calling for an end to the Ethiopian government's use of its Anti-Terrorism Proclamation law "to prosecute journalists, political party members, and activists..."[103]

Though the U.S. commended "Ethiopian officials" for "pledging to address legitimate grievances from their citizens,"—and for their acknowledgement "that security forces were responsible for some of the violence that took place during the protests in Oromia"—the U.S. statement complained that "the government continues to detain an unknown number of people for allegedly taking part in these protests and has not yet held accountable any security forces responsible for alleged abuses." The U.S. called for Ethiopia's government to protect Ethiopians' right to dissent, and other rights, and "promptly release those imprisoned for exercising these rights."[103]

But, instead, the crackdown widened, with 75 protesters killed in Oromia at the end of 2015,[104][105]—and, during protests in 2016, government-associated violence against dissidents escalated. In early August, 2016, dozens of opposition activists—or people simply suspected or accused of anti-government activity—were shot dead by pro-government forces, and others simply disappeared, around the nation.[106]

The election of Ethiopia's 547-member constituent assembly was held in June 1994. This assembly adopted the constitution of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia in December 1994. The elections for Ethiopia's first popularly chosen national parliament and regional legislatures were held in May and June 1995. Most opposition parties chose to boycott these elections. There was a landslide victory for the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF). International and non-governmental observers concluded that opposition parties would have been able to participate had they chosen to do so.

The current government of Ethiopia was installed in August 1995. The first President was Negasso Gidada. The EPRDF-led government of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi promoted a policy of ethnic federalism, devolving significant powers to regional, ethnically based authorities. Ethiopia today has nine semi-autonomous administrative regions that have the power to raise and spend their own revenues. Under the present government, some fundamental freedoms, including freedom of the press, are circumscribed.[107]

Citizens have little access to media other than the state-owned networks, and most private newspapers struggle to remain open and suffer periodic harassment from the government.[107] At least 18 journalists who had written articles critical of the government were arrested following the 2005 elections on genocide and treason charges. The government uses press laws governing libel to intimidate journalists who are critical of its policies.[108]

Zenawi's government was elected in 2000 in Ethiopia's first-ever multiparty elections; however, the results were heavily criticized by international observers and denounced by the opposition as fraudulent. The EPRDF also won the 2005 election returning Zenawi to power. Although the opposition vote increased in the election, both the opposition and observers from the European Union and elsewhere stated that the vote did not meet international standards for fair and free elections.[107] Ethiopian police are said to have massacred 193 protesters, mostly in the capital Addis Ababa, in the violence following the May 2005 elections in the Ethiopian police massacre.[109]

The government initiated a crackdown in the provinces as well; in Oromia state the authorities used concerns over insurgency and terrorism to use torture, imprisonment, and other repressive methods to silence critics following the election, particularly people sympathetic to the registered opposition party Oromo National Congress (ONC).[108] The government has been engaged in a conflict with rebels in the Ogaden region since 2007. The biggest opposition party in 2005 was the Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD). After various internal divisions, most of the CUD party leaders have established the new Unity for Democracy and Justice party led by Judge Birtukan Mideksa. A member of the country's Oromo ethnic group, Ms. Birtukan Mideksa is the first woman to lead a political party in Ethiopia.

Current human rights violations include the killing of 100 peaceful protestors by direct government gunfire in the Oromo and Amhara region.[112] The UN has called for UN observers on the ground in Ethiopia.[113] The EPRDF-dominated Ethiopian government has refused to allow UN observers in Ethiopia to investigate the killing of 100 Protestors by Federal security forces.[114] The protestors are protesting land grabs and lack of basic human rights such as the freedom to elect their representatives. The TPLF-dominated EPRDF won 100% in an election marked by fraud which has resulted in Ethiopian civilians protesting on scale unseen in prior post-election protests.[115] Merera Gudina, leader of the Oromo People's Congress, said the East African country was at a "crossroads". "People are demanding their rights," he said. "People are fed up with what the regime has been doing for a quarter of a century. They're protesting against land grabs, reparations, stolen elections, the rising cost of living, many things. "If the government continue to repress while the people are demanding their rights in the millions that (civil war) is one of the likely scenarios," Gudina said in an interview with Reuters.[115]

Among the Omotic Karo-speaking and Hamer peoples in southern Ethiopia, adults and children with physical abnormalities are considered to be mingi, "ritually impure". The latter are believed to exert an evil influence upon others; disabled infants have traditionally been murdered without a proper burial.[118] The Karo officially banned the practice in July 2012.[119]

Before 1996, Ethiopia was divided into thirteen provinces, many derived from historical regions. The nation now has a tiered governmental system consisting of a federal government overseeing ethnically based regional states, zones, districts (woreda), and kebeles ("neighbourhoods).

Since 1996, Ethiopia has been divided into nine ethnically-based and politically autonomous regional states (kililoch, singular kilil) and two chartered cities (astedader akababiwoch, singular astedader akababi), the latter being Addis Ababa and Dire Dawa. The kililoch are subdivided into sixty-eight zones, and then further into 550 woredas and several special woredas.

The constitution assigns extensive power to regional states, which can establish their own government and democracy according to the federal government's constitution. Each region has at its apex a regional council where members are directly elected to represent the districts and the council has legislative and executive power to direct internal affairs of the regions.

Article 39 of the Ethiopian Constitution further gives every regional state the right to secede from Ethiopia. There is debate, however, as to how much of the power guaranteed in the constitution is actually given to the states. The councils implement their mandate through an executive committee and regional sectoral bureaus. Such elaborate structure of council, executive, and sectoral public institutions is replicated to the next level (woreda).

The major portion of Ethiopia lies on the Horn of Africa, which is the easternmost part of the African landmass. Bordering Ethiopia are Sudan and South Sudan to the west, Djibouti and Eritrea to the north, Somalia to the east and Kenya to the south. Within Ethiopia is a vast highland complex of mountains and dissected plateaus divided by the Great Rift Valley, which runs generally southwest to northeast and is surrounded by lowlands, steppes, or semi-desert. The great diversity of terrain determines wide variations in climate, soils, natural vegetation, and settlement patterns.

Ethiopia is an ecologically diverse country, ranging from the deserts along the eastern border to the tropical forests in the south to extensive Afromontane in the northern and southwestern parts. Lake Tana in the north is the source of the Blue Nile. It also has a large number of endemic species, notably the gelada, the walia ibex and the Ethiopian wolf ("Simien fox"). The wide range of altitude has given the country a variety of ecologically distinct areas, and this has helped to encourage the evolution of endemic species in ecological isolation.

The predominant climate type is tropical monsoon, with wide topographic-induced variation. The Ethiopian Highlands cover most of the country and have a climate which is generally considerably cooler than other regions at similar proximity to the Equator. Most of the country's major cities are located at elevations of around 2,000–2,500 m (6,562–8,202 ft) above sea level, including historic capitals such as Gondar and Axum.

Wonchi Lake

The modern capital, Addis Ababa, is situated on the foothills of Mount Entoto at an elevation of around 2,400 metres (7,900 ft). It experiences a mild climate year round. With temperatures fairly uniform year round, the seasons in Addis Ababa are largely defined by rainfall: a dry season from October–February, a light rainy season from March–May, and a heavy rainy season from June–September. The average annual rainfall is approximately 1,200 millimetres (47 in).

There are on average 7 hours of sunshine per day. The dry season is the sunniest time of the year, though even at the height of the rainy season in July and August there are still usually several hours per day of bright sunshine. The average annual temperature in Addis Ababa is 16 °C (60.8 °F), with daily maximum temperatures averaging 20–25 °C (68.0–77.0 °F) throughout the year, and overnight lows averaging 5–10 °C (41.0–50.0 °F).

Most major cities and tourist sites in Ethiopia lie at a similar elevation to Addis Ababa and have a comparable climate. In less elevated regions, particularly the lower lying Ethiopian xeric grasslands and shrublands in the east of the country, the climate can be significantly hotter and drier. Dallol, in the Danakil Depression in this eastern zone, has the world's highest average annual temperature of 34 °C (93.2 °F).

Ethiopia has 31 endemic species of mammals.[122] The African wild dog prehistorically had widespread distribution in the territory. However, with last sightings at Finicha'a, this canid is thought to be potentially locally extinct. The Ethiopian wolf is perhaps the most researched of all the endangered species within Ethiopia.

Ethiopia is a global center of avian diversity. To date more than 856 bird species have been recorded in Ethiopia, twenty of which are endemic to the country.[123] Sixteen species are endangered or critically endangered. A large number of these birds feed on butterflies, like the Bicyclus anynana.[124]

Historically, throughout the African continent, wildlife populations have been rapidly declining due to logging, civil wars, pollution, poaching, and other human factors.[125] A 17-year-long civil war, along with severe drought, negatively impacted Ethiopia's environmental conditions, leading to even greater habitat degradation.[126] Habitat destruction is a factor that leads to endangerment. When changes to a habitat occur rapidly, animals do not have time to adjust. Human impact threatens many species, with greater threats expected as a result of climate change induced by greenhouse gases.[127] With carbon dioxide emissions in 2010 of 6,494,000 tonnes, Ethiopia contributes just 0.02% to the annual human-caused release of greenhouse gases.[128]

Ethiopia has a large number of species listed as critically endangered, endangered, and vulnerable to global extinction. The threatened species in Ethiopia can be broken down into three categories (based on IUCN ratings): critically endangered, endangered, and vulnerable.[122]

Mountain nyalas in Nechisar National Park, one of several wildlife reserves in Ethiopia.

Deforestation is a major concern for Ethiopia as studies suggest loss of forest contributes to soil erosion, loss of nutrients in the soil, loss of animal habitats, and reduction in biodiversity. At the beginning of the 20th century, around 420,000 km2 (or 35%) of Ethiopia's land was covered by trees, but recent research indicates that forest cover is now approximately 11.9% of the area.[130] Ethiopia is one of the seven fundamental and independent centers of origin of cultivated plants of the world.[citation needed]

Ethiopia loses an estimated 1,410 km2 of natural forests each year. Between 1990 and 2005 the country lost approximately 21,000 km2 of forests.[citation needed]

Current government programs to control deforestation consist of education, promoting reforestation programs, and providing raw materials which are alternatives to timber. In rural areas the government also provides non-timber fuel sources and access to non-forested land to promote agriculture without destroying forest habitat.

Organizations such as SOS and Farm Africa are working with the federal government and local governments to create a system of forest management.[131] Working with a grant of approximately 2.3 million Euros, the Ethiopian government recently began training people on reducing erosion and using proper irrigation techniques that do not contribute to deforestation. This project is assisting more than 80 communities.

According to the IMF, Ethiopia was one of the fastest growing economies in the world, registering over 10% economic growth from 2004 through 2009.[132] It was the fastest-growing non-oil-dependent African economy in the years 2007 and 2008.[133] In 2015, the World Bank highlighted that Ethiopia had witnessed rapid economic growth with real domestic product (GDP) growth averaging 10.9% between 2004 and 2014.[134]

Ethiopia's growth performance and considerable development gains came under threat during 2008 and 2011 with the emergence of twin macroeconomic challenges of high inflation and a difficult balance of payments situation. Inflation surged to 40% in August 2011 because of loose monetary policy, large civil service wage increase in early 2011, and high food prices.[135] For 2011/12, end-year inflation was projected to be about 22%, and single digit inflation is projected in 2012/13 with the implementation of tight monetary and fiscal policies.[136]

In spite of fast growth in recent years, GDP per capita is one of the lowest in the world, and the economy faces a number of serious structural problems. However, with a focused investment in public infrastructure and industrial parks, Ethiopia's economy is addressing its structural problems to become a hub for light manufacturing in Africa.[137] Agricultural productivity remains low, and frequent droughts still beset the country.[138] "Ethiopia is often ironically referred to as the 'water tower' of Eastern Africa because of the many (14 majors) rivers that pour off the high tableland", including the Nile. "It also has the greatest water reserves in Africa, but few irrigation systems in place to use it. Just 1% is used for power production and 1.5% for irrigation."[139] In recent years, however, Ethiopia has completed several major dams[140] for hydroelectricity production and irrigation. Ethiopia, despite Egypt's initial protest, is also in the process of constructing a 6000 MW and Africa's largest hydroelectric dam ( GERD dam) on the Nile river.[141]

Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam - The largest dam in Africa which, when completed, will produce 6 gigawatts of energy.

Provision of telecommunications services is left to a state-owned monopoly. It is the view of the current government that maintaining state ownership in this vital sector is essential to ensure that telecommunication infrastructures and services are extended to rural Ethiopia, which would not be attractive to private enterprises.

The Ethiopian constitution defines the right to own land as belonging only to "the state and the people", but citizens may lease land (up to 99 years), and are unable to mortgage or sell. Renting of land for a maximum of twenty years is allowed and this is expected to ensure that land goes to the most productive user. Land distribution and administration is considered an area where corruption is institutionalized, and facilitation payments as well as bribes are often demanded when dealing with land-related issues.[142]

Agriculture constitutes around 85% of the labour force. However, the service sector represents the largest portion of the GDP.[2] Many other economic activities depend on agriculture, including marketing, processing, and export of agricultural products. Production is overwhelmingly by small-scale farmers and enterprises, and a large part of commodity exports are provided by the small agricultural cash-crop sector. Principal crops include coffee, legumes, oilseeds, cereals, potatoes, sugarcane, and vegetables.

Exports are almost entirely agricultural commodities, and coffee is the largest foreign exchange earner. Ethiopia is Africa's second biggest maize producer.[143] According to UN estimations the per capita GDP of Ethiopia has reached $357 as of 2011[update].[144] The same report indicated that the life expectancy had improved substantially in recent years. The life expectancy of men is reported to be 56 years and for women 60 years.

Ethiopia is also the 10th largest producer of livestock in the world[citation needed]. Other main export commodities are khat, gold, leather products, and oilseeds. Recent development of the floriculture sector means Ethiopia is poised to become one of the top flower and plant exporters in the world.[147]

Cross-border trade by pastoralists is often informal and beyond state control and regulation. In East Africa, over 95% of cross-border trade is through unofficial channels. The unofficial trade of live cattle, camels, sheep, and goats from Ethiopia sold to Somalia, Djibouti, and Kenya generates an estimated total value of between 250 and 300 million USD annually (100 times more than the official figure).[148]

This trade helps lower food prices, increase food security, relieve border tensions, and promote regional integration.[148] However, there are also risks as the unregulated and undocumented nature of this trade runs risks, such as allowing disease to spread more easily across national borders. Furthermore, the government of Ethiopia is purportedly unhappy with lost tax revenue and foreign exchange revenues.[148] Recent initiatives have sought to document and regulate this trade.[148]

With the private sector growing slowly, designer leather products like bags are becoming a big export business, with Taytu becoming the first luxury designer label in the country.[149] Additional small-scale export products include cereals, pulses, cotton, sugarcane, potatoes, and hides. With the construction of various new dams and growing hydroelectric power projects around the country, Ethiopia also plans to export electric power to its neighbors.[150][151]

Coffee remains its most important export product, and with new trademark deals around the world (including recent deals with Starbucks) the country plans to increase its revenue from coffee.[152] Most regard Ethiopia's large water resources and potential as its "white oil" and its coffee resources as "black gold".[153][154]

The country also has large mineral resources and oil potential in some of the less inhabited regions. Political instability in those regions, however, has inhibited development. Ethiopian geologists were implicated in a major gold swindle in 2008. Four chemists and geologists from the Ethiopian Geological Survey were arrested in connection with a fake gold scandal, following complaints from buyers in South Africa. Gold bars from the National Bank of Ethiopia were found by police to be gilded metal, costing the state around 17 million USD, according to the Science and Development Network website.[155]

Ethiopia has 656 km of railways, which almost entirely consists of the electrified Addis Ababa – Djibouti Railway, with a single 1,435 mm (4 ft 81⁄2 in) standard gauge track. The railway, officially opened in October 2016, links the capital of Ethiopia to the Port of Djibouti, providing landlocked Ethiopia with an economically much needed link to a Red Sea port. Expected travel time from Addis Ababa via Awash to Djibouti City is less than twelve hours with a designated speed of up to 120 km/hour for freight trains and up to 160 km/hour for passenger trains.[156] A second, northern 220 km long railway is under construction between Mek'ele and Weldiya (projected to be extended to Djibouti City later).[157] A third railway is under construction between Awash and Weldiya (391 km long) which will link the two other railway lines.[158]

As the first part of a ten-year Road Sector Development Program, between 1997 and 2002 the Ethiopian government began a sustained effort to improve its infrastructure of roads. As a result, as of 2015[update] Ethiopia has a total (Federal and Regional) of 100,000 km of roads, both paved and gravel.[159]

The Ethiopian government is using its villagisation programme to forcibly relocate about 1.5 million indigenous peoples from their homes, farms and grazing lands to make way for agricultural plantations.[165] Those who refuse face intimidation, beatings, rapes, arbitrary detention and imprisonment, and even death.[165] This is in direct contravention of Ethiopia’s obligations under international law.[166] A spokesperson for the Ethiopian embassy in London has denied that the country engages in land grabbing.[167]

Ethiopia's population has grown from 33.5 million in 1983 to 87.9 million in 2014.[169] The population was only about 9 million in the 19th century.[170] The 2007 Population and Housing Census results show that the population of Ethiopia grew at an average annual rate of 2.6% between 1994 and 2007, down from 2.8% during the period 1983–1994. Currently, the population growth rate is among the top ten countries in the world. The population is forecast to grow to over 210 million by 2060, which would be an increase from 2011 estimates by a factor of about 2.5.[171]

The country's population is highly diverse, containing over 80 different ethnic groups. According to the Ethiopian national census of 2007, the Oromo are the largest ethnic group in Ethiopia, at 34.4% of the nation's population. The Amhara represent 27.0% of the country's inhabitants, while Somalis and Tigrayans represent 6.22% and 6.08% of the population, respectively. Other prominent ethnic groups are as follows: Sidama 4.00%, Gurage 2.52%, Welayta 2.27%, Afar 1.73%, Hadiya 1.72%, Gamo 1.49% and others 12.6%.[4]

Afroasiatic-speaking communities make up the majority of the population. Among these, Semitic speakers often collectively refer to themselves as the Habesha people. The Arabic form of this term (al-Ḥabasha) is the etymological basis of "Abyssinia," the former name of Ethiopia in English and other European languages.[172] Additionally, Nilo-Saharan-speaking ethnic minorities inhabit the southern regions of the country; particularly in areas of the Gambela Region which borders South Sudan. The largest ethnic groups among these include the Nuer and Anuak.

In 2009, Ethiopia hosted a population of refugees and asylum seekers numbering approximately 135,200. The majority of this population came from Somalia (approximately 64,300 persons), Eritrea (41,700) and Sudan (25,900). The Ethiopian government required nearly all refugees to live in refugee camps.[173]

English is the most widely spoken foreign language, and is the medium of instruction in secondary schools. Amharic was the language of primary school instruction, but has been replaced in many areas by regional languages such as Oromiffa, Somali or Tigrinya.[176] While all languages enjoy equal state recognition in the 1995 Constitution of Ethiopia, Amharic is recognized as the official working language of the Federal Government. The various regions of Ethiopia are free to determine their own working languages,[1] with Oromiffa, Somali and Tigrinya recognized as official working languages in their respective regions.[176]

Ethiopia has close historical ties with all three of the world's major Abrahamic religions. In the 4th century, the region was one of the first in the world to officially adopt Christianity as the state religion. As a result of the resolutions of the Council of Chalcedon, in 451 the monophysites, which included the majority of Christians in Egypt and Ethiopia, were designated as heretics under the common name of "Coptic Christianity". While no longer distinguished as a state religion, the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church remains the majority Christian denomination. There is also a substantial Muslim demographic, representing around a third of the population. Ethiopia is also the site of the Hegira, an important emigration in Islamic history. A town in the Tigray Region, Negash is the oldest Muslim settlement in Africa. Until the 1980s, a substantial population of Beta Israel (Ethiopian Jews) resided in Ethiopia.[179][180]

According to the 2007 National Census, Christians make up 62.8% of the country's population (43.5% Ethiopian Orthodox, 19.3% other denominations), Muslims 33.9%, practitioners of traditional faiths 2.6%, and other religions 0.6%.[181] This is in agreement with the updated CIA World Factbook, which states that Christianity is the most widely practiced religion in Ethiopia. According to the latest CIA factbook figure, Muslims constitute 33.9% of the population.[2] Sunnis form the majority of Muslims with non-denominational Muslims being the second largest group of Muslims, and the Shia and Ahmadiyyas are a minority. Sunnis are largely Shafi'is or Salafis, and there are also many Sufi Muslims there.[182] The large Muslim population in the northern Afar region has resulted in a Muslim separatist movement called the "Islamic State of Afaria" seeking a sharia-compliant constitution.[183]

According to the 2007 Population and Housing Census, around 1,957,944 people in Ethiopia are adherents of traditional religions. An additional 471,861 residents practice other creeds.[4] While followers of all religions can be found in each region, they tend to be concentrated in certain parts of the country. Christians predominantly live in the northern Amhara and Tigray regions, and are largely members of the non-Chalcedonian Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church. Those belonging to P'ent'ay are centered in the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region (SNNP) and Oromia. Muslims in Ethiopia predominantly adhere to Sunni Islam and generally inhabit eastern and northeastern areas; particularly the Somali, Afar, Dire Dawa and Harari regions. Practitioners of traditional religions mainly reside in the nation's far southwestern and western rural borderlands, in the SNNP, Benishangul-Gumuz and Gambela regions.[4][179]

Human rights groups have regularly accused the government of arresting activists, journalists and bloggers to stamp out dissent among some religious communities, though the Ethiopian government argues that the growing influence of Wahhabism and the Salafi movement from Saudi Arabia in recent years poses a legitimate security threat.[187] Lengthy prison terms were handed to 17 Muslim activists on 3 August 2015 ranging from seven to 22 years. They were charged with trying to create an Islamic state in the majority Christian country. All the defendants denied the charges and claimed that they were merely protesting in defence of their rights.[188][189][190]

Population growth, migration, and urbanization are all straining both governments' and ecosystems' capacity to provide people with basic services.[191] Urbanization has steadily been increasing in Ethiopia, with two periods of significantly rapid growth. First, in 1936–1941 during the Italian occupation of Mussolini's fascist regime, and from 1967 to 1975 when the populations of urban centers tripled.[192]

In 1936, Italy annexed Ethiopia, building infrastructure to connect major cities, and a dam providing power and water.[193] This along with the influx of Italians and laborers was the major cause of rapid growth during this period. The second period of growth was from 1967 to 1975 when rural populations migrated to urban centers seeking work and better living conditions.[192]

This pattern slowed due to the 1975 Land Reform program instituted by the government, which provided incentives for people to stay in rural areas. As people moved from rural areas to the cities, there were fewer people to grow food for the population. The Land Reform Act was meant to increase agriculture since food production was not keeping up with population growth over the period of 1970–1983. This program proliferated the formation of peasant associations, large villages based on agriculture. The act did lead to an increase in food production, although there is debate over the cause; it may be related to weather conditions more than the reform act.[194] Urban populations have continued to grow with an 8.1% increase from 1975 to 2000.[195]

Migration to urban areas is usually motivated by the hope of better lives. In peasant associations daily life is a struggle to survive. About 16% of the population in Ethiopia are living on less than 1 dollar per day (2008). Only 65% of rural households in Ethiopia consume the World Health Organization's minimum standard of food per day (2,200 kilocalories), with 42% of children under 5 years old being underweight.[196]

Addis Ababa at night.

Most poor families (75%) share their sleeping quarters with livestock, and 40% of children sleep on the floor, where nighttime temperatures average 5 degrees Celsius in the cold season.[196] The average family size is six or seven, living in a 30-square-meter mud and thatch hut, with less than two hectares of land to cultivate.[196]

The peasant associations face a cycle of poverty. Since the landholdings are so small, farmers cannot allow the land to lie fallow, which reduces soil fertility.[196] This land degradation reduces the production of fodder for livestock, which causes low milk yields.[196] Since the community burns livestock manure as fuel, rather than plowing the nutrients back into the land, the crop production is reduced.[196] The low productivity of agriculture leads to inadequate incomes for farmers, hunger, malnutrition and disease. These unhealthy farmers have a hard time working the land and the productivity drops further.[196]

Although conditions are drastically better in cities, all of Ethiopia suffers from poverty, and poor sanitation. However, since 2000 poverty in Ethiopia fell from 44% to 29.6% in 2011, according to the World Bank.[197] In the capital city of Addis Ababa, 55% of the population used to live in slums.[193] Now, however, a construction boom in both the private and public sector has led to a dramatic improvement in living standards in major cities, particularly in Addis Ababa. Notably, government-built condominium housing complexes have sprung up throughout the city, benefiting close to 600,000 individuals.[198] Sanitation is the most pressing need in the city, with most of the population lacking access to waste treatment facilities. This contributes to the spread of illness through unhealthy water.[193]

Despite the living conditions in the cities, the people of Addis Ababa are much better off than people living in the peasant associations owing to their educational opportunities. Unlike rural children, 69% of urban children are enrolled in primary school, and 35% of those eligible for secondary school attend.[193] Addis Ababa has its own university as well as many other secondary schools. The literacy rate is 82%.[193]

Many NGOs (Non-Governmental Organizations) are working to solve this problem; however, most are far apart, uncoordinated, and working in isolation.[195] The Sub-Saharan Africa NGO Consortium is attempting to coordinate efforts.[195]

The World Health Organization's 2006 World Health Report gives a figure of 1,936 physicians (for 2003),[199] which comes to about 2.6 per 100,000. Globalization is said to affect the country, with many educated professionals leaving Ethiopia for better economic opportunities in the West.

Ethiopia's main health problems are said to be communicable (contagious) diseases worsened by poor sanitation and malnutrition. Over 44 million people (more than half the population) do not have access to clean water.[200] These problems are exacerbated by the shortage of trained doctors and nurses and health facilities.[201]

The state of public health is considerably better in the cities. Birth rates, infant mortality rates, and death rates are lower in cities than in rural areas due to better access to education, medicines, and hospitals.[193] Life expectancy too is better in cities compared to rural areas, but there have been significant improvements witnessed throughout the country in recent years, the average Ethiopian living to be 62.2 years old, according to a UNDP report.[202] Despite sanitation being a problem, use of improved water sources is also on the rise; 81% in cities compared to 11% in rural areas.[195] As in other parts of Africa, there has been a steady migration of people towards the cities in hopes of better living conditions.

There are 119 hospitals (12 in Addis Ababa alone) and 412 health centers in Ethiopia.[203] Infant mortality rates are relatively high, as 41 infants die per 1000 live births.[204] Ethiopia has been able to reduce under-five mortality by two-thirds (one of the Millennium Development goals) since 1990 [203] Although this is a dramatic decrease, Birth-related complications such as obstetric fistula affect many of the nation's women.

Community health care workers.

The HIV AIDS prevalence rate in Ethiopia stood at 1.1% in 2014, a dramatic decrease from 4.5% 15 years ago [205] The most affected are poor communities and women, due to lack of health education, empowerment, awareness and lack of social well-being. The government of Ethiopia and many private organizations like World Health Organization (WHO), and the United Nations, are launching campaigns and are working aggressively to improve Ethiopia's health conditions and promote health awareness on AIDS and other communicable diseases (Dugassa, 2005).

Ethiopia has a relatively high infant and maternal mortality rate. Although, Ethiopia did not meet the MDG target of reducing maternal mortality rate by two thirds in 2015, there are improvements nonetheless. For instance, the contraception prevalence rate increased from 8.1% in 2000 to 41.8% in 2014, and Antenatal care service coverage increase from 29% to an astounding 98.1% in the same period. Currently, the maternal mortality rate stands at 420 per 100,000 live births.[206] Only a minority of Ethiopians are born in hospitals, while most are born in rural households. Those who are expected to give birth at home have elderly women serve as midwives who assist with the delivery (Kater, 2000). The "WHO estimates that a majority of maternal fatalities and disabilities could be prevented if deliveries were to take place at well-equipped health centers, with adequately trained staff" (Dorman et al., 2009, p. 622).

The low availability of health care professionals with modern medical training, together with lack of funds for medical services, leads to the preponderance of less-reliable traditional healers that use home-based therapies to heal common ailments.

One common cultural practice, irrespective of religion or economic status, is female genital mutilation (FGM), also known as female genital cutting (FGC), a procedure that involves partial or total removal of the external female genitalia, or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons.[207] The practice has been made illegal in Ethiopia in 2004.[208] FGM is a pre-marital custom mainly endemic to Northeast Africa and parts of the Near East that has its ultimate origins in Ancient Egypt.[209][210] Encouraged by women in the community, it is primarily intended to deter promiscuity and to offer protection from assault.[211]

The country has a high prevalence of FGM, but prevalence is lower among young girls. Ethiopia's 2005 Demographic and Health Survey (EDHS) noted that the national prevalence rate is 74% among women ages 15–49.[212] The practice is almost universal in the regions of Dire Dawa, Somali, and Afar. In the Oromo and Harari regions, more than 80% of girls and women undergo the procedure. FGC is least prevalent in the regions of Tigray and Gambela, where 29% and 27% of girls and women, respectively, are affected.[213] According to a 2010 study performed by the Population Reference Bureau, Ethiopia has a prevalence rate of 81% among women ages 35 to 39 and 62% among women ages 15–19.[214] A 2014 UNICEF report found that only 24% of girls under 14 had undergone FGM.[215]

Male circumcision is also practiced in the country, and about 76% of Ethiopia's male population is reportedly circumcised.[216]

The Government of the Federal Republic of Ethiopia is signatory to various international conventions and treaties that protect the rights of women and children. Its constitution provides for the fundamental rights and freedoms for women. There is an attempt being made to raise the social and economic status of women through eliminating all legal and customary practices, which hinder women's equal participation in society and undermine their social status.

Education in Ethiopia was dominated by the Tewahedo Church for many centuries until secular education was adopted in the early 1900s. The current system follows school expansion schemes which are very similar to the system in the rural areas during the 1980s, with an addition of deeper regionalization, providing rural education in students' own languages starting at the elementary level, and with more budget finances allocated to the education sector. The sequence of general education in Ethiopia is six years of primary school, four years of lower secondary school and two years of higher secondary school.[217]

Access to education in Ethiopia has improved significantly. Approximately 3 million people were in primary school in 1994/95, and by 2008/09, primary enrollment had risen to 15.5 million – an increase of over 500%.[218]

The literacy rate has increased in recent years: according to the 1994 census, the literacy rate in Ethiopia was 23.4%.[174] In 2007 it was estimated to be 39% (male 49.1% and female 28.9%).[219] A report by UNDP in 2011 showed that the literacy rate in Ethiopia was 46.7%. The same report also indicated that the female literacy rate has increased from 27 to 39 percent from 2004 to 2011, and the male literacy rate has increased from 49 to 59 percent over the same period for persons 10 years and older.[220]

Ethiopians have a different naming system to the family name-based Western system. Children add the given names of their father and paternal grandfather consecutively to their own given name. For compatibility purposes, as is done in passports, the grandfather's given name is taken as a family surname, and a person's given name and his/her father's given name form the first name.

Everyone is addressed by his/her given name. In official situations, the prefixes Ato (ኣቶ) is used for men; Weyzero (ወይዘሮ) for married women; and Weyzerīt (ወይዘሪት) for unmarried women.

Ethiopia has several local calendars. The most widely known is the Ethiopian calendar, also known as the Ge'ez calendar. It is based on the older Alexandrian or Coptic calendar, which in turn derives from the Egyptian calendar. Like the Coptic calendar, the Ethiopian calendar has twelve months of exactly 30 days each plus five or six epagomenal days, which comprise a thirteenth month. The Ethiopian months begin on the same days as those of the Coptic calendar, but their names are in Ge'ez.

Like the Julian calendar, the sixth epagomenal day — which in essence is a leap day — is added every four years without exception on 29 August of the Julian calendar, six months before the Julian leap day. Thus the first day of the Ethiopian year, 1 Mäskäräm, for years between 1901 and 2099 (inclusive), is usually 11 September (Gregorian), but falls on 12 September in years before the Gregorian leap year. Also a seven- to eight-year gap between the Ethiopian and Gregorian calendars results from an alternate calculation in determining the date of the Annunciation of Jesus.

Time in Ethiopia is counted differently from in many Western countries. The Ethiopian day is reckoned as beginning at 6 AM as opposed to 12 AM, concurrently with sunrise throughout the year. To convert between the Ethiopian clock and Western clocks, one must add (or subtract) 6 hours to the Western time. For example, 2 AM local Addis Ababa time is called "8 at night" in Ethiopia, while 8 PM is called "2 in the evening".

The best-known Ethiopian cuisine consists of various types of thick meatstews, known as wat in Ethiopian culture, and vegetable side dishes served atop injera, a large sourdoughflatbread made of teff flour. This is not eaten with utensils, but instead one uses the injera to scoop up the entrées and side dishes. Almost universally in Ethiopia, it is common to eat from the same dish in the center of the table with a group of people. It is also a common custom to feed others in your group with your own hands – a tradition referred to as "gursha."[222] Traditional Ethiopian cuisine employs no pork or shellfish of any kind, as they are forbidden in the Islamic, Jewish, and Ethiopian Orthodox Christian faiths.

Chechebsa (ጨጨብሣ), marqa, chukko, michirra and dhanga are the most popular dishes from the Oromo. Kitfo (ክትፎ), which originated from the Gurage is one of the widely accepted and favorite foods in Ethiopia. In addition, Doro wot is another popular food, and it originated from the Amhara people of north western Ethiopia. Tihlo (ጥሕሎ)—which is a type of dumpling—is prepared from roasted barley flour. It originated in the Tigray Region, and is now very popular in Amhara and spreading further south.[223]

The music of Ethiopia is extremely diverse, with each of the country's 80 ethnic groups being associated with unique sounds. Ethiopian music uses a distinct modal system that is pentatonic, with characteristically long intervals between some notes. As with many other aspects of Ethiopian culture and tradition, tastes in music and lyrics are strongly linked with those in neighboring Eritrea, Somalia, Djibouti, and Sudan.[224][225] Traditional singing in Ethiopia presents diverse styles of polyphony (heterophony, drone, imitation, and counterpoint). Traditionally, lyricism in Ethiopian song writing is strongly associated with views of patriotism or national pride, romance, friendship, and a most unique type of memoire known as 'Tizita'.

^"Ethiopia's flower trade in full bloom". Mail & Guardian. 19 February 2006. Archived from the original on 18 April 2007. Retrieved 21 June 2007. Floriculture has become a flourishing business in Ethiopia in the past five years, with the industry's exports earnings set to grow to $100-million by 2007, a five-fold increase on the $20-million earned in 2005. Ethiopian flower exports could generate an estimated $300-million within two to three years, according to the head of the government export-promotion department, Melaku Legesse.

^Averill, Victoria (31 May 2007). "Ethiopia's designs on leather trade". BBC. Retrieved 21 June 2007. The label inside the luxuriously soft black leather handbag reads Taytu: Made In Ethiopia. But the embroidered print on the outside, the chunky bronze rings attached to the fashionably short straps and the oversized "it" bag status all scream designer chic.

^Abdullahi, Mohamed Diriye (2001). Culture and Customs of Somalia. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 170. ISBN0-313-31333-4. Somali music, a unique kind of music that might be mistaken at first for music from nearby countries such as Ethiopia, the Sudan, or even Arabia, can be recognized by its own tunes and styles.

^Tekle, Amare (1994). Eritrea and Ethiopia: from conflict to cooperation. The Red Sea Press. p. 197. ISBN0-932415-97-0. Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia and Sudan have significant similarities emanating not only from culture, religion, traditions, history and aspirations ... They appreciate similar foods and spices, beverages and sweets, fabrics and tapestry, lyrics and music, and jewelry and fragrances.

Abir, Mordechai (1968). Ethiopia: The Era of the Princes; The Challenge of Islam and the Re-unification of the Christian Empire (1769–1855). London: Longmans.

Beshah, Girma; Aregay, Merid Wolde (1964). The Question of the Union of the Churches in Luso-Ethiopian Relations (1500–1632). Lisbon: Junta de Investigações do Ultramar and Centro de Estudos Históricos Ultramarinos.